The Obama administration is clearly turning up the heat on the Pakistani government in an effort to get them to tackle the Taliban leaders operating in the Quetta region. Last week, administration officials leaked that they are mulling airstrikes against the Taliban leadership in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, and particularly against the executive council in Quetta. This would be a significant expansion of the not-so-covert Predator campaign currently taking place in the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province. Since then, the International Security Assistance Force has begun to name Taliban leaders directing “insurgent activity from outside Afghanistan.” In press releases that reported on the death of three Taliban commanders in Helmand province since March 16, ISAF has identified four Taliban commanders operating from outside of Afghanistan. Pakistan isn’t directly named, but U.S. and NATO officers have been saying for years that the insurgency in southern Afghanistan is being directed by the Taliban shura in Quetta. And while the identification of Taliban commanders operating from outside of Afghanistan may seem insignificant, I’ve been following ISAF press releases for years and have yet to see this mentioned. The message to Pakistan is clear: We know who these Taliban leaders are and where they are operating from. It will be interesting to see if the Obama administration will follow up on the not-so-veiled threats to strike in Baluchistan if the Pakistan military does not act against the Taliban leadership. The administration is pushing a policy of engagement and additional support for the Pakistani government, while some in Congress seek to lavish the country with a $20 billion, 15-year aid package. At some point it will be difficult to sell engagement and aid for Pakistan to the American people while we conduct strikes throughout half the country because the Pakistanis are unwilling to tackle the Taliban and al Qaeda problem.
